By Jack Garrity
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Chapter 8
Pages 131-135
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The United States and Canada form a
geographic region of enormous physical
variety and natural wealth
This wealth includes breathtaking landforms
shaped by the forces of water, wind and
geology over millions of years.
These landforms, such as the rugged,
mountainous areas near Yellowstone National
Park, have attracted adventurers and inspired
writers for decades.
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In North America, water, wind glacial, and geologic
forces shape the landscapes of the USA and Canada.
The 3rd in area, North America accounts for 24.71 million km².
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The West coast has new sharp mountains that become plains extending
across the continent to meet the older eroded mountains in the east.
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Tectonic plate collisions created the sharp peaked Pacific
Ranges millions of years ago.
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These include the Sierra Nevada,
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These include the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range
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These include the Sierra Nevada, the volcanic Cascade
Range, the Coast Range
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These include the Sierra Nevada, the volcanic Cascade
Range, the Coast Range, and the Alaska Range.
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Mount McKinley is the highest point on the continent at
6,194 meters.
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The Rocky Mountains stretch for 4,828 km with some
peaks more than 4,267 m tall.
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Dry basins and plateaus fill the area between the Pacific
Ranges and Rocky Mountains.
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Basin
a hollow or depression in the earth's surface, wholly
or partly surrounded by higher land:
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Leaking lava formed the Columbia Plateau.
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Wind and water erosion have shaped the Colorado
Plateau with flat-topped mesas.
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Wind and water erosion have shaped the Colorado
Plateau with flat-topped mesas.
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Millions of years of water erosion with continued uplift
creates the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
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Millions of years of water erosion with continued uplift
creates the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.
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The Gran Canyon’s sheer walls plunge 1,829 m deep.
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The Great Basin cradles Death Valley, the lowest place in
the US and usually the hottest place on the planet.
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East of the Rockies, the land falls and flattens into the
Great Plains, which extent 483-1,126 km across the center
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The Great Plains begin at 1,829 m, yet appear flat.
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The Great plains slope downwards at about 2 m per km
to the Central Lowlands along the Mississippi River.
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East of the Mississippi, the land rises slowly to the
foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
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The heavily eroded Appalachian Mountains are the oldes
and 2nd longest 2,412 km.
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Glaciers eroded the Appalachian Mountains throughout
the Ice Age.
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They average 910 m, the highest of the group is Mount
Mitchell in North Carolina at 2,037 m.
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The Canadian Shield, a giant core of rock, anchors the
continent on the edge of the Canadian Plain.
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This stony land makes up the eastern half of Canada and
northeastern USA.
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The Canadian Shield descends to Hudson Bay.
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Churchill Canada on the Hudson Bay
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Coastal lowlands lie east and south of the Appalachians.
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The Piedmont, an area of rolling hills, runs between the
mountains and lowlands.
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In the south east, the Gulf Coastal Plain extends to Texas
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The Hawaiian Islands are volcanic.
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Lava accumulations created the 8 major and124 smaller
Islands of the State.
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The Ellesmere Islands are part of the continent.
Greenland, the world’s largest island 2.2 million km2,
remains part of Denmark.
Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton
slands are economic ports on the east coast of Canada.
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Vancouver Island is Canada’s main port to Asia.
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New York City’s Manhattan Island is the main world
economic center.
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Lakes and rivers in North America continue to be
important to economic development. Major rivers, the
super highways of the past, connected the cities of the
continent.
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The Continental Divide determines which way rivers
flow.
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West of the Continental Divide rivers flow towards the
Pacific Ocean.
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The Colorado and Rio Grande have their headwaters in
the Rocky Mountains.
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Dozens of smaller tributary rivers connect with them.
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A tributary is a stream or river that flows into a
larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or
a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a
sea or ocean
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East of the Continental Divide Rivers flow towards the
Atlantic Ocean, and Hudson Bay.
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They flow into the Mississippi River, which runs North
South.
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They flow into the Mississippi River flows 3,782 km
towards the Gulf of Mexico.
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It’s headwater is so thin that you can jump across it in
Minnesota.
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It reaches a width of 2.4 km as it empties into the Gulf of
Mexico.
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It drains 31 US states and 2 Canadian Providences,
making it one of the world’s busiest commercial
waterways.
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The St. Lawrence River flows for 1.207 km from Lake
Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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The Canadian cities of Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa
depend on the St. Lawrence for trade and transportation.
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Niagara Falls forms another part of the boarder with the
Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side and the American
Falls on the US side.
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Glacial dams created Great Bear Lake and Great Slave
Lake.
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Area: 31,153 km²
Surface elevation: 156 m
Mean depth: 72 m
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Glacial erosion tore the Canadian Shield leaving huge
basins.
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These filled with water from melting glaciers, becoming
the Great Lakes.
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The Great Lakes — Superior, Huron, Michigan,
Ontario and Erie.
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The Great Lakes make up the largest body of fresh
water on Earth, accounting for one-fifth of the
freshwater surface on the planet at 6 quadrillion
gallons.
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Area: 244,106 km²
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Area: 244,106 km²
UAE 83,600 km²
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Abundant natural resources have made the US and
Canada wealthy, especially as they were not sent to
Europe.
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United States has 8,133.5 metric tons of gold.
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metric ton
noun
a unit of weight equal to 1,000 kilograms (2,205
lb).
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25 metric tons of silver
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The United States is currently third in food
production, but still produces so much it throws half
away.
1
Russia
10,500,000
2
Saudi Arabia (OPEC)
10,000,000
3
United States
9,200,000
4
Iraq (OPEC)
4,300,000
5
China, People's
Republic of
4,100,000
6
Canada
3,800,000
7
Iran (OPEC)
3,500,000
8
United Arab
Emirates (OPEC)
2,700,000
9
Kuwait (OPEC)
2,500,000
10
Venezuela (OPEC)
2,400,000
75,212,696
World[8]
1
United States
18,561,930
—
European Union[n 1][8]
16,518,723
2
China[n 2]
11,391,619
3
Japan
4,730,300
4
Germany
3,494,900
5
United Kingdom
2,649,890
6
France
2,488,280
7
India
2,250,990
8
Italy
1,852,500
9
Brazil
1,769,600
10
Canada
1,532,340
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest
quantitative measure of a nation's total
economic activity. More
specifically, GDP represents the monetary
value of all goods and services produced
within a nation's geographic borders over a
specified period of time.
1
Qatar
132,870
2
Luxembourg
99,506
3
Singapore
85,382
4
Brunei
79,508
5
Kuwait
70,542
6
Norway
68,591
7
United Arab Emirates
67,217
8
Ireland
65,806
9
San Marino
62,938
10
Switzerland
58,647
—
Hong Kong
56,878
11
United States
56,084
12
Saudi Arabia
53,802
13
Netherlands
49,624
14
Bahrain
49,601
15
Sweden
48,199
Rank
Country
US$
1
Luxembourg
149,160
2
Switzerland
80,603
3
Norway
74,598
4
Qatar
68,940
5
Ireland
61,206
6
United States
56,084
7
Singapore
52,888
8
Denmark
52,139
9
Australia
51,181
10
Iceland
50,277
11
Sweden
50,050
12
San Marino
49,615
13
United Kingdom
43,902
14
Austria
43,724
15
Netherlands
43,603
16
Canada
43,413
17
Finland
42,413
—
Hong Kong
42,295
18
Germany
40,952
19
Belgium
40,529
20
United Arab Emirates
38,650
Average annual wages, 2015
Country
constant prices at 2015 USD PPPs
United States
58,714
United Kingdom
41,384
Switzerland
58,389
Sweden
40,909
Spain
36,325
South Korea
33,110
Slovenia
33,085
Slovak Republic
22,031
Portugal
24,105
Poland
23,998
Norway
50,908
Netherlands
50,670
Mexico
14,867
Luxembourg
60,369
Japan
35,780
Italy
34,140
Israel
29,794
Ireland
46,074
Hungary
19,999
Greece
25,211
Germany
44,925
France
41,252
Finland
40,731
Estonia
21,564
Denmark
50,024
Czech Republic
21,689
Canada
47,843
Belgium
47,702
Austria
46,084
Australia
50,167
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Next time, Cultural Latin America
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end